Is a contract signed by an old employee still binding?

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Is a contract signed by an old employee still binding?

I want to currently change the vendor who services our trash 4 yard receptacle. Currently they have transferred the issue to collections and threatened to take legal action upon me. I told them I want to cancel and that the contract is not valid because of the employee signature. They did not respond to this statement. However, their 4-yarder is still on site and it should be removed ASAP upon my demand. Is the contract valid?

Asked on March 8, 2011 under Business Law, Missouri

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 13 years ago | Contributor

The fact that a contract leaves a company has *no* bearing on the validity of a contract--otherwise, big companies would have to resign hundres or thousands of agreements every month as employees move, are fired or laid off, etc. If the employee had the authority to sign the  contract when he or she was there, then the contract is enforceable. If by its terms, the contract is still in force (e.g. it hasn't yet reached it's end date or otherwise been validly terminated in accordance with its terms), a party to the contract (the vendor) can enforce the contract, including by bringing a lawsuit. So if the only grounds for believing that the contract is not enforceable is that it was signed by an "old employee," then unfortunately, it is almost certainly still valid.


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